Descent of the Demon Master

Knight Chadwick growled angrily. “...You think people will accept what you have done?!”

Wiggins shrugged casually even as Knight Chadwick glared at him through the bars of the underground prison. “Accept, you say…?”

“You have gone against the Round Table’s rules! That’s why no one will acknowledge you!”

“That’s what you think, Chadwick,” Wiggins grinned cheerily.

“You…!”

“No need to get angry, Chadwick. Rest assured, I know you haven't done anything to be blamed for. Your imprisonment down here is for our convenience's sake. Nothing more. Once we're finished mopping up the mess, I'll see to it that you're freed right away.”

“...Say what?” Chadwick’s brows rose up. “You’ll let me go?”

“Isn't that obvious?”

“...Obvious? How?” Chadwick asked back as if he found the notion inconceivable.

Wiggins shrugged casually again. “Let me use the example you've brought up. You have not gone against the Round Table's rules like I have. You only did what was required of you. In that case, why should you be killed?”

“But, then…” Knight Chadwick muttered before hurriedly clamping his mouth shut. He realized blurting out what was on his mind would only make him look petty and a sore loser.

Thankfully for Chadwick’s dignity, though, Wiggins figured out what the current Knight of Britain had in mind and replied first. “I have no plans to take the Knight position back, Chadwick. You’ve gone through the legitimate process to become Britain’s Knight. As such, I lack the authority or the right to demand it back from you. More crucially, though, I wouldn’t do that even if I had the authority.”

Chadwick stared in bewilderment at Wiggins. If that was the case, why did Wiggins bother to return to the Round Table in the first place?

“I told you already, didn't I? I'm here to revert everything back to how it's supposed to be. Of course, I won't deny that the process will bring some changes around here. However, I assure you that my intentions are not to harm the Round Table.

“It's fine if you still don't believe me. However, I'm sure you do trust the Master. I'm merely returning something to its rightful owner. And I swear to not interfere in the Round Table's affairs afterward.”

Chadwick narrowed his eyes, his teeth noisily grating. “I’ve known this for years, but you…”

Wiggins cocked an eyebrow. “Mm?”

“You are rather adept at hiding lies in the truth, Wiggins.”

“...Hoh-oh?”

Chadwick derisively scoffed. “You swear to never interfere? I'm sure you will oh-so graciously stay out of our way. However, aren't you going to use others in your cunning plan to swallow up the Round Table instead?”

“Mm? I see you are still misunderstanding things,” Wiggins ruefully shook his head. “You don't have to worry about that. Surely you don't think I can control the Master somehow, now do you…?”

“If it’s only you, yes, it’ll be difficult. However…!”

“…”

Chadwick growled like a beast. “However! The Master will have no choice as long as that monster has your back. And you! You plan to hide a dagger behind that fake smile of yours to threaten the Master. That will get you everything you want. Isn't that right?”

Wiggins looked as if he just heard the most absurd story in the world. “Chadwick… Just what do you see me as?”

“A venomous snake!” Chadwick replied without a moment’s hesitation. “You’re a venomous and cunning snake, Wiggins. More correctly, you’re a snake in sheep’s clothing!”

“Huh? Not a wolf, but a snake?”

“Yes. A wolf might be cruel, but it’s not sinister and cunning. That’s why you’re a snake, Wiggins. You bide your time and silently watch the world around you like a snake before shooting out of your hiding spot to bite the throat of your victim when an opening presents itself!”

“Hmm…”

Chadwick roared loudly. “Not everyone will fall for your treachery, Wiggins! I, for one, will never believe you! I’ve watched you for the longest time. Even if the Master… and other Knights fall for your tricks, I will never believe you. And I will use all the authority granted to me to oppose you!”

Wiggins sighed deeply. “Well, I will be. I didn’t know you had such a rich imagination, Chadwick.”

“Are you going to shamelessly deny it?” Chadwick scoffed again. “I'm not surprised. It fits your character, after all! The character of a venomous and sly snake! Once you've finished devouring the Round Table, I'm sure you'll move on to devour the Martial Assembly or whatever it's called. Now I'm curious what kind of face Kang Jin-Ho will make on the day when you finally bite into his throat. Of course, I won't sit back and watch that happen!”

Wiggins slowly shook his head. “I see. It seems you're beyond help, then. Do whatever you want, Chadwick. I'm leaving. Once everything has settled down, I'll come to free you.”

Chadwick roared again. “Remember, Wiggins! You won’t have your way! I swear it!”

“Sure, sure. Whatever makes you happy,” Wiggins muttered and turned around to leave as if he had enough of this chat. He didn't waste any more time and unhesitantly walked up the staircase to leave the underground prison.

‘You… You abominable bastard!’

Chadwick gnashed his teeth.

He admitted that his jealousy of Wiggins was indeed real. However, what he said just now didn't come from a place of envy or jealousy.

Hatred and affection were two sides of the same coin. As much as Chadwick hated Wiggins, he was also deeply obsessed with the latter, too. As such, he believed he knew more about Wiggins than anyone else in the world.

Wiggins put on a facade of a man more honest and upright than anyone, but the naked truth was that… He was more calculative and ambitious than anyone Chadwick knew!

When the news of Wiggins throwing away the Knight position to join the Martial Assembly reached the Round Table, everyone understandably freaked out… With the sole exception of Chadwick, that was! Instead, he began thinking that this Martial Assembly based in South Korea could be even more terrifying than others bargained for.

After all, Wiggins had seen enough potential there to switch his allegiances, didn’t he? That was how calculating and decisive he was!

‘I will never let you devour the Round Table, Wiggins! I am Britain’s representative Knight! I shall faithfully guard the Round Table from…’

“Pardon me, Chadwick?”

Chadwick’s head snapped in the direction of that voice. “…?!”

Wiggins had returned to the front of the cell without Chadwick noticing it.

“What…?”

“Oh, don't be alarmed. I thought of another question to ask you, you see? You spoke as if you knew a lot about me, and that made me rather curious…”

“…?”

Wiggins smiled brightly. “If I’m really the type of person you say I am, what do you think I’ll do to you?”

Chadwick’s eyes powerfully quaked just then. “…! Wiggins, you!”

Stab!

Even before Chadwick realized it, Wiggins’ sword was thrust between the cell’s steel bars to stab into his throat!

“Kuh-huk…?”

Wiggins sighed ruefully while shaking his head. “It seems you are not as smart as you think, Chadwick. If that was what you really thought, you should've kept your mouth shut and obediently waited to be released from here. Since I'm a snake like you say, why would I let you live after hearing your future plans?”

Plop!

Chadwick collapsed on the floor as blood gushed out of his throat like a fountain.

“You were mostly right, Chadwick… except for two things. One, I'm a little more… Let's say extreme, than you think. I'm also not stupid enough to let you live because I dread other people's scrutiny or the potential fallout from your demise.”

“…!”

“As for the other wrong assumption…” Wiggins squatted in front of the steel bars near Knight Chadwick's collapsed figure. “My lord isn't tolerating my presence because he doesn't know I'm a snake. Besides, I could never bite his throat even if I wanted to.

“No matter how powerful a snake's venom is, it can’t kill an elephant, now can it? On the contrary. The elephant will trample the snake to death instead.”

Wiggins cocked his head, then smirked brightly.

“Not to mention, a mere elephant can't even be compared to my lord, to begin with! So, you don't have to worry about such things. I will never devour the Martial Assembly, you see? As for the Round Table… Mm, I can't say for sure what I'll do. I still haven't made up my mind yet. So, why don't you sit back and watch what happens next? Of course, in the netherworld, that is.”

Chadwick’s wide-open eyes of indignation gradually lost signs of life. Eventually, he stopped breathing altogether.

Wiggins tutted softly at this sight. “What a fool.”

Chadwick could've lived for a bit longer if only he knew how to zip his mouth, but alas!

Wiggins casually flicked his hand to undo the magic circle sealing the usage of magic in the cell, then dumped Chadwick's corpse into his subspace. After erasing all traces of what happened here, Wiggins leisurely headed back to the staircase while whistling away.

***

Kang Jin-Ho relaxedly leaned against the couch.

“Hmm…?”

It would’ve been nice had his back been embraced by the comfy cushions of the couch. Unfortunately, the couch he sat on was ancient, its cushions stiff and hard.

Although this situation wasn’t optimal, Kang Jin-Ho had to be gracious here. This wasn’t his office, after all!

While scanning the interior that conveyed the Master’s frugal nature, Kang Jin-Ho rested his head on the couch’s backrest. Then, he pulled out a cigarette and mouthed it.

Click…

After lighting it with a simple lighter, Kang Jin-Ho slowly sucked the unhealthy smoke into his lungs. That was when he felt the fatigue of the battle wash over him along with the hit from the nicotine.

It had been a while since he last felt this lazy after a battle. In other words, his fight against the Elder Knights had satisfied Kang Jin-Ho a lot more than he expected.

‘That surprised me.’

Kang Jin-Ho didn’t think he’d run into enemies strong enough to satisfy him here.

After all, Wiggins implied that the Round Table's best combatant was the Master, although he didn’t outright say the “strongest” of the organization.

What Wiggins did say, however, was that the Master was among the top three. To Kang Jin-Ho's ears, though? That sounded like splitting hairs.

If the Master really was one of the top three, the other two couldn't be much better than him in terms of strength. In that case, they would never be strong enough to satisfy Kang Jin-Ho's desire to fight.

However, he still managed to find unexpectedly strong opponents here, which allowed him to cut loose for the first time in a while.

“Fuu-woo…”

Kang Jin-Ho exhaled the cigarette smoke as a wry grin floated up on his face.

‘I’ve definitely changed.’

He had entrusted his body to the heat of the battle and roused up demonic qi. Then, he threw himself into a fierce battle where blood was shed nonstop.

The old Kang Jin-Ho wouldn't have stopped there, though. To cool his boiling blood, he would have thirsted after more bloodletting. The odds of that happening were uncomfortably high.

That was why he always ended his battles in a wanton slaughter until now.

However, the story was different this time.

Demonic qi had completely filled him up to his head, yet Kang Jin-Ho managed to retain his rational mind. He did not lose his ego and go berserk like before.

Was this change because Kang Jin-Ho decided to walk a different path than his old self? Or should he thank his deepened understanding of demonic cultivation overall for that? He couldn’t readily figure this mystery out.

However…

‘Well, at least it’s not a bad thing.’

Losing one's rational mind during a battle could never be a good thing, no matter how one tried to analyze that. The story was the same even if going berserk could unlock greater strength.

A power beyond one's control would only lead to destruction. Not just the enemy's, but one's own, too. And an uncontrollable power was a potential bomb that could blow up the surroundings sooner or later. That was why Kang Jin-Ho decided he should be happy about this new achievement of his.

Although, he was still rueful about one thing, and that was…

‘Still not enough!’

This battle served as a timely reminder of Kang Jin-Ho still being a weakling.

Other people might think that was one of the most ludicrous things they might hear in their entire lives, but Kang Jin-Ho had a good basis to evaluate himself this way.

There was no denying that Kang Jin-Ho was overwhelmingly strong. By the current era’s standards of martial arts, that was! However, he knew he still hadn’t recovered his past self’s strength.

Kang Jin-Ho closed his eyes and sunk even deeper into the couch.

‘How laughable…’

To think he’d feel inferior to his old self!

Being in this position helped him realize how strong Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor really was back then. Kang Jin-Ho always thought his current strength was still lacking, but the battle with the Elder Knights helped him see just how far he still had to go.

If it was Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor facing the Elder Knights…? The battle wouldn't even have gotten started in the first place. He would've one-sidedly slaughtered the Knights as soon as they drew their weapons.

Kang Jin-Ho used to think he didn't need to be that strong in this life. Yet he was obsessing over it right now. Not because he thought he was falling behind others, though.

It was clear his surroundings were lacking compared to the threats from abroad. In that case, he needed something else other than his own individual strength to protect everyone he cared about.

In that regard, this battle gifted Kang Jin-Ho many things. Such as the stark reminder of how lacking he still was, and…

‘...And that there are still many powerful experts around the world, too!'

China's Three Kings weren't the only powerful beings in this era. Which was also true back in Gangho, wasn't it? Many famous experts walked the earth back then, yet plenty more had deliberately chosen to hide themselves from the eyes of the world, too.

If he was being honest… This knowledge got Kang Jin-Ho's pulse racing again.

Knock, knock!

Kang Jin-Ho heard the crisp knocking sounds and glanced at the door. “Come in.”

Creak!

The door opened, and a familiar face popped inside. “So this was where you were, my lord.”

“Mm…”

Wiggins stepped into the office while smiling genially.